


The Magnificent Magical Mary

by durotos



Category: Harvest Moon, Harvest Moon: Back To Nature, Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:07:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25159741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/durotos/pseuds/durotos
Summary: Mary has an unexpected audience member as she practices for the upcoming Music Festival at the church.  A belated birthday present for my friend, Juliko!
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4





	The Magnificent Magical Mary

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Juliko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Juliko/gifts).



_“If you don’t look where you’re going, you’re going to bump into someone or something!”_

_“Honestly, Mary, can you put that book away for two minutes?”_

_“Do you want to give the impression that you care more about that silly story than the world around you? Because that’s what you’re doing.”_

Mother often scolded me for walking and reading at the same time, but it rarely deterred me when I was by myself. It was easy to lose myself between the pages and push away the memories of her well-intentioned warnings like an annoying buzzing fly. It gave me a sense of guilty pleasure that I could push open doors and walk up stairs without losing my place on the page. 

Today, I was reading notes instead of words. The sheet music was the same piece we performed every year at the Music Festival, but I was determined to practice. I had felt the guilt slowly settle in as I looked at it day after day without stopping by to warm up on the organ at the church.

It wasn’t that I didn’t have any time – rather, I had plenty. It was all the more reason to feel bad about not getting any proper practice in. Being alone with your thoughts can make you rather busy even when it looks like you’re not doing much. Mother finally gave me a stern look before her eyes moved back and forth between the book of music and myself. She has quite a way of speaking without words; I pulled on my cardigan and hurried to the church, music in hand and my bag containing my organ shoes tucked under my arm.

My rush didn’t stop me from looking at the music, though. My peripheral vision guided me along as I stared at it, mentally singing the notes. I went to lean my shoulder into the church door to push it and my stomach dropped as I realized it was held open. I stumbled forward a bit and snapped my gaze away from the paper. I could almost hear my mother’s chastising words in my mind, but they were shooed away by a folksy lilt.

“S-Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” Cliff’s eyes were wide as he bowed his head apologetically.

I shook my head, feeling my embarrassment grow at my lack of perception for the world around me. My inertia nearly caused the bag with my shoes to smack him. “I should’ve been paying attention,” I confessed, grasping it more tightly.

I could see Pastor Carter pretending to attend to some texts behind the altar; his eyes were locked onto the two of us and the encouragement on his face was obvious. It was hardly a secret that he was trying to get Cliff to open up and talk to people more. Between my visits to the church the last couple of seasons, a nervous Cliff had approached me a couple of times, attempting to make small talk. He was pleasant enough to speak to, but I felt a little uncomfortable forcing a conversation he obviously didn’t want to partake in to begin with. Because of this, the conversations were very forgettable and didn’t consist of much more than a greeting and farewell. The main reason I remembered them happening at all was that his accent was very different from everyone else in town and I found it interesting to listen to, as sparse as his words were.

“You come to practice?” He was looking at the music book in my hand.

I gave a nod, feeling a little guilty I wasn’t giving him much dialogue to go off of. He didn’t make a motion to leave the church as I stepped inside; I noticed he was reading the title of the music with interest.

I held it out to him. “The Music Festival is coming up. I’m sure Carter’s told you about it, right?”

He gave a rueful hint of a smile in response as he flipped through the pages. It was apparent he could read music based on the way his eyes moved across the notes. A flicker of interest caught in his expression before he caught himself. He blinked suddenly, the light in his eyes promptly snuffed out. “I… I really shouldn’t… I don’t do well with crowds,” he added hastily. I couldn’t help but notice that his usual sadness returned to him as he handed the book back over.

“I’m not great with them either,” I admitted, hoping it would help.

_I should ask him what he plays…_

Cliff gave me an apologetic look, and I met his eyes for the first time that day. I was embarrassed I had only now just noticed the usual circles under his eyes were considerably darker today and he looked like he had lost quite a bit of weight; he didn’t look healthy. “I wish you luck. It’s not easy.” He bowed his head in farewell as he headed outside, shifting his pack on his back.

I felt a blanket of guilt cover me as I realized I hadn’t asked how he was feeling. I had focused the entire conversation around myself. Frowning, I looked toward the front of the church and realized I had caught Carter staring at us. He gave a mild wave in greeting, his usual smile covering his face. “Good afternoon, Mary! What brings you to the church today?”

I made my way down the aisle, showing him my music book. “I-I’m a bit overdue for some practice.” I hoped I didn’t look as sheepish as I felt. I looked back at the closed door, unable to stop mentally chiding myself over how my conversation with Cliff had gone.

_Mother’s right – maybe I do focus too much on my own little bubble… I should have listened more instead of speaking…_

Carter’s voice pulled me back to reality. “Ah, it’s been a while since I’ve heard anyone play that organ besides myself,” he replied, his face pensive. 

I felt my face fall. “I-I’m sorry I haven’t stopped by sooner to practice.” My eyes flicked toward the book of music in my hands – I could practically play the piece with my eyes closed. Still, I could remember all of the times I had seen the book lying on my desk; it had literally accumulated a thin layer of dust after I had neglected it so long. “I didn’t mean to give the impression that I wasn’t taking the Music Festival seriously.”

And still, it had taken Mother’s stern look to convince me to pick up the book to practice…

_“If you put half the effort you put into those silly stories, you’d get so many more important things done!”_

The words still stung…

“The Music Festival is not only a time to thank the gods for the bounty they have given us. It’s a celebration for our efforts as well.” He paused, looking at me. “It’s allowed to be fun, too, Mary.”

I could feel the heat rise into my face. Was I really that easy to read?

Despite the priest’s good intentions, I still felt a small sense of dread as I dragged my feet over to the bench by the organ and placed opened my music book. “Is anyone new going to be joining us this year?”

He gave me a curious look, almost as if he thought I had some hidden meaning behind it. “Not that I’m aware of.” There was a playful lilt to his words, but he said nothing more.

Unsure of what to say, I idly flipped through the pages of my book. “W-Well… I guess I’ll get started then… maybe look over the music some more.”

The moment I began to change my shoes, I heard a small voice pipe up.

“… and we found a whole bunch of ‘em growin’ back behind the church. They’re really pretty, huh?”

I couldn’t help but smile as I watched Stu thrust a pale purple flower up toward Carter’s face; I hadn’t been aware he was watching him today. The young boy looked back down at the flower, running his fingers along the petals. He took special care in his actions; it was a stark change to his usual rowdy behavior. 

I was immediately swept with memories of stomping through the underbrush as a young girl, ignoring my mother’s irritated scolding at the both of us as my father laughed, leading me through branches and mud…

I pulled the thoughts from my head, but I still couldn’t bring myself to play any notes; Stu’s enthusiasm was far more interesting than the dry musical number that we performed year after year…

“I wanted to make a big bouquet for Elli and Grandma, but Big Bro told me not to pick them all.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you, Stu. I’m sure they’ll be very happy with what you’ve got for them.”

The door to the church opened again, revealing a pale-faced Jeff. Holding his stomach, he walked forward, giving Pastor Carter an uneasy smile. “Good afternoon.” He gave Stu a distracted nod; in his tunnel vision, it was likely he hadn’t noticed me seated at the organ. “Pastor, are you available for a moment?”

Carter’s eyes flicked between me and Stu. “Mary, do you mind an audience?”

I knew he was unsubtly asking me to watch for Stu. It wasn’t a problem; I had read him books on plenty of occasions when he was with May. I gave a slight nod and the boy bounded over toward me, flower in hand.

“Is it for the music festival?”

“That’s right,” I replied, a little tickled that he was staring at the instrument with interest.

“How many of those buttons do you gotta push? How do you remember ‘em all? Don’t your fingers get confused?”

A small chuckle escaped my lips. “There certainly are a lot of keys. I’ve been playing for a long time, though. When you’ve been practicing something a lot, it just comes naturally to you.”

I felt another jab of guilt; this was my first practice session in a _very_ long time. Mother’s words began to sound in my head again, and I pushed them away.

“I don’t remember the Music Festival from last time. It was so long ago! I don’t know how to play anything for it. I’m gonna watch with Grandma.”

I smiled. The passing of one year certainly felt much longer when one was younger. 

“Elli’s gonna play her flute. It sounds really pretty. I don’t know how her fingers move so fast, though.” 

He leaned forward and gave me a cheeky grin as he pushed down on one of the keys. Not surprisingly, no sound came out. He pouted. “I can’t figure out why this never works. When Carter isn’t lookin’, me and May try, but it never makes any sound.”

I pushed my shoe bag out of the way. If I told Stu he didn’t have a stop properly selected on the instrument, Carter would probably never forgive me. I felt a smirk play at my lips. “You have to befriend the pipe organ if you expect to be able to play it,” I replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

He didn’t look very convinced. “I gotta be its… _friend_?”

“Oh, yeah.” I gave a big nod. “You have to give it compliments and encourage it. Did you know that if you are kind to objects, they’ll help you?”

The boy gawked at me and I bit back a laugh. “I… don’t believe you.” He twirled the flower in his fingers, averting his eyes shyly.

“Have you ever gotten a papercut?”

“When we were playin’ paper dolls once…” Stu nodded, unsure of where I was going with this.

“Did you ever notice when you get one, you’re more likely get another one if you are angry?”

He looked up from the flower.

“Doors are harder to open if you’re in a bad mood. Sometimes they’ll catch your shirt, too.”

His eyes widened at this. “Are you…” Stu dropped his voice to a whisper. “Are you a… _witch_?”

As a child, I dreamed of being a fair princess waiting for her prince charming, not an old hag who tricked children.

I said nothing in reply, but I gave him a wink.

His reaction was so encouraging that I found myself playing a jaunty little ditty on the organ. Never mind that it was the opening theme for a guilty pleasure anime I’d be ashamed to admit I watched.

“Is that from… _My Dear Princess_?”

I felt my cheeks burn and I removed my hands from the keys abruptly. I could almost hear Mother’s scolding – a waste of my talents, surely.

Stu was oblivious to my shame as he swung the flower like a conductor’s baton, singing slightly off-key. _“Is he a friend/ Or enemy?/ Maybe you’re my destiny!/ My Dear Princess…”_ He looked up at me with a grin. “My sister watches that sometimes when her friends are over.”

My eyes flicked toward the closed confessional door as I remembered my reason for coming here. “I’ve got a better song for you. How would you like to hear what I’m going to play at the Music Festival?”

Stu gave a giddy nod, hopping up and down.

I looked up at the book and let out a silent breath, my fingers gliding over the keys. As I played, I thought of my parents watching from the pew. I thought of the twisted nerves in my stomach at performing in front of a crowd. The way my palms would grow sweaty, the way my throat closed up and my heart hammered in my throat. I had struggled with stage fright as far as I could remember. 

I recall debating whether or not to ask Ann if she was nervous, too, before performing last year, when she said it was “time to get this silly thing over with”. 

Karen had laughed and replied that she could likely sing the song backwards by now.

I supposed it wasn’t a difficult song, but I wondered if Ann or Karen had ever felt nervous a day in their lives. They were both so outgoing, so bold and outspoken. They knew who they were, and they never questioned that…

My mother’s encouragement hadn’t helped much…

_“Then make yourself something you want to be proud of! Do something about it! Find a real hobby!”_

A lump formed in my throat.

I realized my fingers were lingering on the last note and I let go with a sigh.

“That song’s kinda boring, isn’t it?” Stu’s voice pulled me from my music.

I couldn’t help hold bite back a snicker at his blunt honesty; I suppose he was a bit young to understand the nuances of tact. Admittedly, my long, droning chords had been dull enough to allow my mind to wander. “My part’s rather unexciting, I suppose.”

I couldn’t help but wonder if it was more than just my contribution to the song that was bland…

“Elli and Ann were practicin’ last week. They have a lotta fast little notes. It goes tiddle-tiddle-tiddle~” Stu mimicked playing a flute on his flower’s stem.

“That’s because her and Ann are playing the melody on the flute,” I explained, “and Karen’s singing the lead…”

All interesting parts – much more exciting than droning pipe organ chords…

“You don’t sound happy about playin’ for the Music Festival.”

I forced a cheesy smile at him that was short-lived. Getting stage fright probably didn’t affect someone as outgoing as Stu, either, and I didn’t feel like I had the energy to explain it to him. I could feel the worry lines forming on my forehead and a lump formed in my throat as I scolded myself for a potential meltdown I might have in front of a young child.

“Was your mom makin’ you sad?” Stu looked up at me with startling honesty in his eyes.

My breath caught in my throat, a small part of me paranoid if my expressions were that easy to read once more. Despite my earlier kidding about having supernatural powers, I made a silent promise not to lie to him about my feelings – I had dealt with enough forced smiles accompanying puffy eyes at home. “What makes you say that?” I was genuinely curious.

The young boy twirled the flower in between his fingers thoughtfully. “May has that same face when she finishes talkin’ on the phone with her mom.”

I felt my heart sink, and I realized I had no idea what to say in reply.

“I don’t remember my mom much,” Stu admitted. He didn’t look particularly bothered by this statement. “Elli says she is nervous about playin’ her flute in front of everyone, but she told me she feels a little better because she knows Mom and Dad will be listenin’.”

My heartache immediately quelled at his words despite the fact that I knew my own parents would be watching as well.

“A lotta people will be there,” he continued, “so everyone will be tryin’ their best.”

I could feel my smile twitching a bit as I nodded. “By the way, that’s a really pretty echinacea.”

Stu gave me a look like I had just sneezed.

I stifled a giggle. “The flower – that’s what it’s called.” I could still see Father’s beaming smile as he pointed them out to me on the trail.

“Cliff called ‘em coneflowers.”

I thought of the young man’s tired eyes once more. “He’d probably really appreciate it if you picked some for him as a surprise.”

“Maybe I’ll give him some tomorrow!” Stu began to eagerly ramble about the festival once more.

_Although Cliff looks like he might need something a bit more potent than a simple echinacea tea…_

_Probably some hearty food and good company…_

I thought of the informal potluck that accompanied the musical performance.

_I’ll ask him what instrument he plays._

“You’ll get to show everyone your magic, too!” Stu’s voice grew louder with excitement as he skipped up and down the aisle. “Gettin’ the organ to make sound!”

I fought the urge to laugh, and my throat suddenly tightened.

“Poof! The Magnificent Magical Mary!”

I suppose it was better than a cunning old hag that tricked children.

I chuckled into my music book so he couldn’t see the tears running down my face.


End file.
